Internet of Things Biannual Round-up E2 2018

Welcome to the IoT Biannual Round-Up for the second half of 2018, we've been ever so busy, read on to find out!

The State of the Connected Home 2018 E2

For a second year in a row we have successfully published the State of the Connected Home 2018 E2 which was released in September. The report, based on exclusive research conducted by GfK of 1,000 UK consumers, explores the knowledge and understanding of categories and ownership of connected home products and services. The research shows the number of connected devices owned by consumers has significantly grown between 2017 and 2018, there is early evidence that some devices, particularly home assistants and smart meters, may act as a gateway to ownership of others. We will examine this trend more in our 2019 work.

There are, however, clear barriers to take-up with cost, specifically a lack of perceived value, privacy and security of devices are also significant barriers for consumers. techUK is committed to working with industry and Government to help consumers realise the value in adopting and using connected home devices.

We will continue to work with industry, Government and to ensure that the connected home market in the UK is both an attractive one in which to test, develop and launch products as well as ensuring that it delivers value and benefits to consumers.

techUK has been supportive of the Code of Practice as a whole, Matthew Evans and Talal Rajab, Head of Programme, Cyber and National Security, are members of the External Advisory Group that supported DCMS in the creation of this review.

As part of our engagement on the project we hosted several roundtables and conference calls with DCMS to gather feedback from members on the final draft of the Code of Practice before it launched in Autumn 2018.

Further to our close engagement in the development, techUK is also providing training on the Code of Practice. To enrol yourself follow the link.

Digital Framework Task Group

As part of the recommendation in the NIC paper, data for the public good, to build a Digital Twin of Britain’s infrastructure and coordination for key players through a digital framework, the Digital Framework Task Group (DFTG) was formed which techUK sit on. The Group has been tasked by the Treasury to advise on the creation of a national digital twin.

Although a digital twin is practical across many specific, smaller-scale use cases, it is yet to be accomplished on a scale required to make Britain’s digital twin a reality, or as we’d like to call it, Brit-twin!

To explore the realities of building a Brit-twin and better understand its uses, we are hosting an all-day event in January 2019 at techUK. On the day, we are bringing together public and private sector, policy makers, decision makers and innovators to forge an understanding of what it may take to make the Brit-twin a reality and what the tech sector role will be to deliver this ambition. Click here to be part of the discussion.

The Active Home

After the successful All-Electric Hybrid Home workshop in partnership with geo, held in May 2018, techUK has explored further the possibility of creating a value proposition to the building industry which will incorporate elements of our existing Smart Energy & Utilities and Connected Home Work Programmes. More information will be available in 2019.

Creating environments that are truly age-friendly requires action in many sectors and many actors.

But this is a new and growing market where technology has the potential to shape this challenge to an opportunity. Healthy ageing will continue to be a key area of focus for techUK and we are committed to bringing together the key players in this eco-system to ensure genuine and meaningful collaboration.

About techUK

techUK represents the companies and technologies that are defining today the world that we will live in tomorrow. More than 900 companies are members of techUK. Collectively they employ approximately 700,000 people, about half of all tech sector jobs
in the UK. These companies range from leading FTSE 100 companies to new innovative start-ups. The majority of our members are small and medium-sized businesses.

techUK is committed to helping its members grow, by:

• Developing markets

• Developing networks

• Reducing business costs and risks

techUK is the trading name for Information Technology Telecommunications and Electronics Association, a company limited by guarantee.